UK economic slowdown is confirmed by new official figures

The UK economy grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter of this year, weaker than the 0.2% growth in GDP for the previous three months, new official figures reveal.

The 0.2% figure, for April to June, was itself revised down by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), from its earlier estimate for the period of 0.3 per cent. The cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover, which halted production for weeks, appears to have played a part in the July to September slowdown.

"Today's updated figures paint the same picture as our initial estimate, with growth continuing to slow in the third quarter," said Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics. "Growth in services were partially offset by falls in production, with a marked drop in car manufacturing." In an indicator of the pressure on people's finances, Britons also saved less between July and September.

The household saving ratio fell 0.7 percentage points to 9.5% - the lowest in a year; and there was also an 0.8% dip in household disposable income per head, following no change in the previous quarter. The Bank of England trimmed interest rates to 3.75% last week in a bid to help boost the economy.

It said it expected zero GDP growth in the current October-to-December period but that the underlying pace of economic growth was around 0.2% per quarter. GDP is an important indicator for the economy as it measures the total value of all goods made and services provided.

Rising GDP means the economy is growing. Read more:How a roundabout could decide the UK's next PMStarmer will absolutely be PM next Christmas Britain had had the best growth figures among the ​Group of Seven large advanced economies in the first half of this year, alongside Japan.

However, the growth has slowed significantly since then. Critics have put this down in part to long-running uncertainty about tax increases in the run up to the chancellor's budget last month.

The ONS revised its 2024 fourth-quarter estimate up 0.1 percentage points to 0.3%. Revisions are often made when more detailed information and data become available.

The ONS said GDP in the third quarter (July to September) was estimated to be 1.3% higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, GDP for 2024 as a whole increased by 1.1%..